Naming policy under revision

March 18, 2011

A board-approved policy on how the university names its physical assets like buildings, roads, equipment and labs has existed since 2001. The same cannot be said for non-physical assets like programs, chairs, departments, colleges and schools. That is about to change.

“The non-physical assets component of the new naming policy—spearheaded by Lea Pennock, university secretary—was created to shine some light on what has not been an the area of clarity,” said Bob Tyler, chair of Council’s Planning and Priorities Committee who presented a proposed naming policy for both physical and non-physical assets to council in February. “It is a set of guidelines and steps on how one goes about naming, or changing a name, of our academic assets.”

Previously, when a program, school or professorship was being named, individuals followed steps they thought were right, Tyler explained. “When you don’t have a policy, people do whatever they think is necessary to get the job done.”

Naming non-physical assets is becoming very common and an over-arching policy is needed, he said. At the request of university deans, Pennock, in consultation with Council members and the Policy Oversight Committee, undertook the naming process development to clearly state the roles of academic units, Council and the board. “The purpose is to provide formal policy and transparency about authority and processes when it comes to naming all of our assets,” Tyler said. “This is not a departure from what is presently done; it will simply formalize what was to a degree an informal process. Council will have oversight over academic matters and the board will have authority over financial matters, in particular donor recognition.

“Investment continues to grow in academic areas, so it is important to have this in place as a way to recognize the many ways investment from donors and other sources supports our campus and its programs. But this will also help to ensure that naming opportunities are aligned with the university’s vision and strategic direction.”